Backup Harddrive over the network software

Question:Backup Harddrive over the network software

Hello there all.I was not sure where to put this message so apologise if itís in the wrong place.I am in need of some free or cheap software that can backup your hard drive as it is over the network to an image file.It will need to backup to a network share.I have been trying a Utility called Bart PE with Self Image. This is good but unfortunately when you want to restore your image to a new hard drive it wonít work because the new hard drive is much bigger than the last one. I need this to work on Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 If anyone can suggest any software that I can buy or use that would be great.If there is any more information needed please let me know.

Regards Steve

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Preferred Solution:
Backup Harddrive over the network software

I recommend downloading and running Reimage. It's a computer repair tool that has been proven to identify and fix many Windows problems with a high level of success.

I recently went thru the blue screen of death on one of my home networked pc. It made me wonder about harddrive cloneing & backup software? What is the best out there. Are there any good free versions? Can they do a complete back and transfer to a new harddrive (to replace the old one) or a bigger hd to be used as the new primary hd for my pc? Can they be used when you get a major error in windows and just want to reinstall windows to working order? or do you have to reinstall the complete clone of the hd?

Cheers

Uly

Answer:Harddrive cloneing & Backup software?

First link in my signature refers.

You burn the free software into a CD and so the health of the orginal operating system is immaterial.

The target or the clone is a 100% mirror image of the orginal and boots exactly like the source disk. You should remove the source disk when using the clone though as two sets of identical system files may cause a MS Windoze to do funny things..

We currently use Vembu Storegrid (it does the job, but we are looking around to see what else is out there that is similar), Storegrid is tasked with any folders that the clients want backing up that aren't on the system disk.

All system disks are backed up nightly using veeam (Ent+ edition). Now we haven;t really done any experimenting with using veeam as a "File" backup mechanism (Files are the most requested thing to be restored, we have only ever restored entire VM's a handful of times).

Is it worth looking at getting veeam to do backups of the "files" (I know it does it all block based), or is symantec BE worth looking at (Used it before, but not in this sort of scenario), or are Dell AppAssue / Commvault Simpana the sort of things we should be looking at.

We are currently protecting aroun 10 - 15 million files from around 30 seperate systems (seperate companies / domains)

Answer:Network backup software

Don't do AppAssure.
4.7 was good, however since they went to 5.x it has been terrible. Every time I've tested it, I've hard numerous problems.

I'm currently running a dual boot system (on the same HDD) of win and ubuntu and am looking for a software that will backup my main HDD to an image (kinda like norton ghost) somewhat which would be located over the network on my NAS, and if my main HDD were to ever get screwed, I could boot from a special CD and reghost my main HDD with that image. Does anyone know of any program that could do that?

Answer:HDD backup software over network

Give Acronis True Image Home a try. It will allow you to backup to NAS or even an FTP site and if the system were to ever fail, you can boot from a rescue CD that it will burn for you and reload your system from NAS or FTP.

Hi, I have a file that i update everyday, and its a task to put it in the network drive every time i do a change, is there any backup software that could auto save/backup a copy of that file (.doc)/(.xls) on the network drive.i am not much of a network geek, but i think the network drive is set up like an IP address. so this is this possible to have a save location of \\192.111.1.99\backup on the saving option for that software ?thanks in advance for your help and replies.

I have recently come into being in charge of the computers in the lab which I work in (I'm a student in this lab). I have been talking with my advisor, and she wants to have some sort of a backup system for the lab, since there is a ton of data which would irreplaceable if it was lost (plus there would be some very upset grad students).

I plan to just get a cheapie sever from dell, and through a raid card in there, and then do a raid 1 array, and then do periodic dvd backups of the server, and backup the most crucial stuff to the USB drive we currently use for backups.

I need to find some software that will do this for me, though. The maxtor drive we have now has some cheapie software that comes with it, but the new version wont do network backups. I need something that can do a nightly backup on its own, without having to share the folders via windows (unless its passsword protected, and the software just has access). I can buy software for this, but I don't want it to cost more than the server or something. Or, I do have access to legit copies of server 2k3 (all varities) through our msdn subscription, would it be possible to use this to do it using this?

Oh, and one more major thing: This needs to work for Mac too. We have a few dual G4's and G5's that we use on the microscopes as imaging stations. All totalled, there are only probably 10-12 computers that need backing up, but I really have no idea what to get in terms of software.

Answer:Automated network backup software?

I run this and it kicks ass! it will backup to any device... cdr/dvd/tape/floppy/zip/internal or external hd... anything!http://www.handybackup.com/pro/

As far as getting it to work on a mac? good luck there buddy. But if you can mount the mac hard drive on the windows machine you can then have the backup program backup that mounted drive/folder on the server that is running this app.

I'm looking for software for a bootable backup to an external USB/firewire HD. I was wondering about Norton Ghost? You can get v9 OEM for $20. Is version 10 any better? I want something that I can use to restore a drive from an image when the whole windows install is FUBAR. Any good freeware?

Answer:Bootable, Network backup software

Norton Ghost is exactly what you want. It also does network imaging, but also the example you have listed. Version 10 is the same thing as 9, but with encryption for your images.

Hi.I am looking for some software to back up two desktops and a laptop in my home. I have no server, but I have a network installed, and want to automatically backup each computer on another, so that a copy is made on another computer. I have very large hard drives on each computer, so space is not a issue. I mainly want to backup data files, not system files.Been looking at Powerquest, Dantz, Retrospect, Veritas, but still unsure which to get. Veritas said I need I server which I don't have, so that is out.Appreciate the help

Answer:Automated Backup software over Network.

Have you tried MS Backup?You don't mention what O.S you are running but I am running XP pro on a laptop and desktop which are on a network.I load up MS Backup (free with Windows) and run through the wizard specifying what files I want to back up, then it asks for a location.I have a directory shared on my desktop called "backup". I simply specify this directory to back the files up to and it works fine.You can also set a schedule for when the backups take place.RegardsFitshase

Now my problem is really two problems. Once I really started to try to backup my hard drives I noticed the network efficiency problem I'm having.

I have an SMC Barricade Wireless Broadband router, but forget the wireless bit for the moment. It should be 100Mbps (thats bits right), but a movie of 35.7MB takes 14 seconds to move between networked drives so that makes it 2.5MBps, when it should be about 12MBps. Correct assumption on my part??? Is it possible that my 10/100Mbps network is actually only ever working at 10Mbps?? My cables are cat5 and cat5e. The green speed lights on both ports on my SMC box are lit, which according to the manual means that data is transmitting at 100Mbps.

So if I have a bottleneck, where is it?? How do I find out? What can I do to improve the efficiency of my simple(?!) home network.

Now I have tried to back up two networked drives from one PC.The PC the backup is on has a firewire connected Iomega external hard drive (120GB). It has a 40GB drive that I try to backup. The other drive I'm backing up is only 20GB.

I have tried the backup software installed with Win2K (it ground to a halt, never completed), I tried winBackup (chewed up a lot of RAM and then ground to a halt, the backup of the 20GB network drive slowed to a rate of 1MB/s, the local to 5MB/s). I just tried Roxio's GoBack 3 Deluxe and got an exception error for both attempts at backup! Three versions of backup software... Read more

Answer:Backup software and network bottlenecks

First off, 100m/bit connections will never achieve anything close to 100% throughput, 30-40% is all that's normal. In point of fact, CSMA/CD protocols (Ethernet) will pretty much hit a wall at around 75-80% of the theoretical throughput and your network throughput will plummet due to excessive collisions. I can transfer large files across my LAN and get about 4m-byte/sec transfers.

Note that your choice of LAN hardware, the speed of the machines, and even your network switch can all affect throughput.

I don't see the problem with doing full backups with a 2.5m-byte/sec throughput. The problems you're experiencing with the various backup applications are unlikely to be due to network speed, at least I've never seen an issue like that.

Hey guys I was wondering about moving over to an automated backup system and I'm hoping I got this in the right section(Storage perhaps? this is Network related )

I want some opinions on software that will:

-Run on my computers
-Do a network backup to a simple SMB fileshare that is mapped to said computer

-Must do a imaged backup of a selected HD (that is, HD fails, reimage, done) IF THAT IS NOT AVAILABLE THEN...
-Must do a full backup of all files
-Must not leave previous backup files, I want only the latest backup stored and nothing else, I honestly do not care about revisions I just want my data backed up!

and most importantly it has to be a differential(?) backup in the fact that it does a one time full backup and then everytime after that only backs up changes and additions into ONE file

I'm sick and tired of looking around for backup programs that are bulky and annoying also the bit about one file, I hate it when a backup program does its backup and has 100s of files in a directory or leaves the previous backup without deleting it! Is there anything either free, consumer or professional that you guys can give me to consider, I'm sure most of you being network or system admins run into this often.

Am I wishful in thinking such a beast exists? Should I be better off just writng a batchfile or script to do this? I've considered that option but haven't really thought about how I'd handle the differential part of it

Differential has 1 main backup file then every change between that backup and the current version. So for example if you did a main backup every Friday and differentials every night if your computer died on Thursday you restore the one from last Friday and then the one from Wednesday night.

Is this for personal use or business?

How often are you wanting changes to be backed up?

While I don't like their antivirus software, Symantec's Backup Exec has a piece called continuous protection server. Every time a file changes it rights only the bit changes back to the server.

http://www.symantec.com/system-recovery-server-edition System Recovery does a image type that I think you are wanting.

Anyone recommend backup software that has ease of use but not too expensive? I have 3 computers and I am mainly worried about hard drive crashes and lost digital pictures. A little background first. I have 2 networked computers (ethernet) upstairs and 1 wireless laptop downstairs. - All networked together. My son uses one of the upstairs computers--- E-machine with XP Home the other my daughter uses upstairs which is Windows 98. Both have various digital pics that I would hate to lose. (also would hate the hassle of trying to get up and running again after a disaster such as a drive crash or failure.) I have a Dell inspirion laptop with XP home and various other digital pics networked wirelessly. I have read about Acronis True Image ver. 9 and Genie Backup Manager. Both seem very good. Also what hardware would anyone recommend for backup? USB external drive? DVD writable drive on one computer? --------backing up all 3 computers using Network shares?? I am leaning toward Acronis because it appears I could restore a drive image easily without haveing to mess with installing Windows. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

So I am looking for a client side windows piece of software that can be scheduled to backup/copy/send data from a field laptop directly to a mapped network drive. Ideally the software would do it whenever the laptop was reconnected to the network drive. I know there is probably something obvious I am missing but apparently I am missing the neccesary keywords to find it when I search. I appreciate any help guys.

Answer:Client Side Software to Backup/Send Files to Network Drive

SyncToy could do it, and it's free from Microsoft. I don't know if you can have it kick off when the drive was connected, but it can be scheduled, and also run manually very easily.

Running W7/64. I've tried to create a system backup to my D drive: error message states that I cannot create an image to a drive which Windows boots from or is installed on.

Not good.

My computer has an SSD ,the C drive, and a spinner, the D drive.

When I installed Windows, I only had the C drive installed. The D drive was not physically connected.

Now, the D drive was recycled from another use. It +had+ been a C drive (possibly for this very machine). I did a full format on it, and ensured it was not hooked up during the SSD install. (I thought that would erase windows OS files.) Somehow, Windows on D drive won't die!

My thought is that I need to perform a repair install. I can do that...and I will. I'll make sure D drive is physically disconnected. Again. Obviously, my attempt to erase any and all previously used data on the D drive failed. (At least, that's my thought.)

How do I remove any OS remnants on the D drive? Yeah, I've got stuff on it, but I can create a Macrium backup and restore them, if need be.

I've included Drive Manager image of it as well as what Macrium sees. (I've got some of the SSD unallocated for overprovisioning.)

Thanks,Ken

Answer:Cannot create a backup image on my backup harddrive?

Ok mate my first thought is I would clean the D: drive using DISKPART - clean or clean all depends on how thorough you want to be a simple clean would in my mind be enough.Disk - Clean and Clean All with Diskpart Commandthen format it.

Running W7/64. I've tried to create a system backup to my D drive: error message states that I cannot create an image to a drive which Windows boots from or is installed on.

Not good.

My computer has an SSD ,the C drive, and a spinner, the D drive.

When I installed Windows, I only had the C drive installed. The D drive was not physically connected.

Now, the D drive was recycled from another use. It +had+ been a C drive (possibly for this very machine). I did a full format on it, and ensured it was not hooked up during the SSD install. (I thought that would erase windows OS files.) Somehow, Windows on D drive won't die!

My thought is that I need to perform a repair install. I can do that...and I will. I'll make sure D drive is physically disconnected. Again. Obviously, my attempt to erase any and all previously used data on the D drive failed. (At least, that's my thought.)

How do I remove any OS remnants on the D drive? Yeah, I've got stuff on it, but I can create a Macrium backup and restore them, if need be.

I've included Drive Manager image of it as well as what Macrium sees. (I've got some of the SSD unallocated for overprovisioning.)

Thanks,Ken

Answer:Cannot create a backup image on my backup harddrive?

Ok mate my first thought is I would clean the D: drive using DISKPART - clean or clean all depends on how thorough you want to be a simple clean would in my mind be enough.Disk - Clean and Clean All with Diskpart Commandthen format it.

I am currently backing up weekly to a small external drive.. it is a small 20gigger. It has taken about 1 year or so to fill up. Now i am thinking long term.. i am considering purchasing a "network harddrive", one that is between 500gigz to 1tb. There is a smaller/more affordable Seagate external drive.. but it is not a "network harddrive".. it has 1.5tb.. versus a network drive that is about 2tb but it cost about 314.

My question is, thinking long term.. and considering the setup i have.. which is a regular PC acting as a server.. what should i get?

Ok so i have three harddrives, lets call them XP, 7old, and 7new. So the 7old harddrive's OS,windows7, wasn't working (i have tried so much things to try to make it work and now i have given up). Because of this i am now planning on getting a new harddrive to do a clean install of windows 7, but then i want to ask if there is a way to restore/copy the applications/files i have in the 7old harddrive, to my new harddrive. (I cannot login to the 7old harddrive's os, but i can access the harddrive files from my xp harddrive). So is there a way to do a clean install then have my old files/applications transferred, since i cant really clone my old harddrive since the os wasn't working. Any suggesstions?

I try to plug in my external drive or my USB drive but it doesn't pick up...

Answer:How do I backup my harddrive using UBCD4Win

I'm assuming you are using the ubcd4win that takes ou to the ubcd4win desktop not just tools. If so, you need to go to the start button and then system and then hwpnp and then click on install usb devices. With my flash drive in it then picks it up. You could also force install devices there and then it may pick up the external hd. I'm not sure that it is going to pick up and external hd through a usb port. I have never tried an external hd as I don't have one. I have done it when I had the 2nd hd on an ide cable or sata and used ubcd4win.

I've got a new larger harddrive where my present main harddrive is full.

The question is, can I copy my present 'My Documents' onto the new hdd and then install XP etc on the new hdd when completed and the old hdd removed.

Or have got to start from fresh and copy all the files I want onto DVD's.

thxs

Answer:Solved: Backup to new Harddrive ???

"Acronis Migrate Easy" will clone your entire old drive to your new drive. You will then be able to swap the old out and new in. This will save you countless hours of reinstalling Windows. http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/migrateeasy/

hiya was reading earlier threads on backups so ive already thought about it and ive got a new harddrive for the porpose off just a backup drive. how do i configer this.im using xppro on a 40gb hd with 2 partitions on ide0. inv a cdrwiter and a dvd. whats the best way to configer these on ide0 and ide1 and what jumper settings help please.

Answer:how to config backup harddrive

Put the new drive on the same ribbon as the other hard drive but before you do set the jumper at the back of the drive to S/L for slave. then after you are connected restart your computer. and go into setup and auto config the drive. "BUT BEFORE YOU DO ALL THIS SWITCH THE POWER OFF BY PULLING THE PLUG IN THE WALL"

What kind of external harddrives are worthwhile?? Maxtor sems a pretty decent company . . i'm new to this and curious as to what i should look for - want around 200 GB for dvd image backups . . . good price / good company / large capacity . . . any suggestions?

i got a problem that maybe someone can help me out with.........my girlfriends motherboard fried..she was running xp home edition....i have an old computer that i'm going to take the motherboard and processor out of and put in hers...but she wants to save her data....she has some important .doc's and alot of pictures that cant be replaced in her My documents folder on her harddrive....

i put her harddrive in my computer as a slave and was able to see the files on her harddrive....but the one folder that has her name on it(where all the pics and .docs are) it tells me its not accessible.....she had a profile login on xp home that she would login to....and i have her login/password if there was to use it......is there anyway to get into that folder to retrieve her stuff and back it up?...any info would be appreciated.. thanks!

i recently purchased the 320gb maxtor harddrive, after figuring i need to backup my pc to it, i tryed to do it and when i get to the 'where do you want to save the backup' (on windows vista ultiamte 32 bit) i select my new harddrive and it says....
'this disk cannot be used to store a windows pc backup image as it is a dynamic disk' could anybody explain what a dynamic disk is and how i can sort this problem? thanks a lot topps.

Answer:pc backup, failure with new harddrive??

ensure you have the correct drivers for such a hard drive. VISTA has MANY issues with hardware. If you cannot fix the problem you will need to either get a compatible drive or switch to XP.

Dad and I both want to backup to a 500gb Maxtor External Harddrive.We have partitioned the harddrive into two. One partition for each of us.We would like to do a full clone of each of our harddrivesand place them oon the harddrive. WE want the clone that goes on the harddrive ,to be useful(not in some random compressed format that we can't get to).

Also. My laptop has a wireless internet connection that connects to a router connected to the internet. The router also connects to dads computer which has the external harddrive.Is there a way to backup my harddrive using the criteria above via our wirelesss connection.

I have lost my laptop once and I don't want it to happen again.Please tell me if you know of a simple way to go about this.

Is it possible to make a full clone of the harddrive that i wouldn't have to clone the whole harddrive each time. ( if you know what i mean) So it just updates the files each time.

Answer:How to Backup to External Harddrive.

There are two ways of doing this, manually by copying the files required or try using cobian backup, the link is in the free software list.Free Software List for Vista

I would not recommend backing up via wireless as this will take a long time.

I have a current settup with WinXP, in which my main HD is a SATA. I want to use an old IDE HD for back-up. The opticals on a secondary IDE cable. When I put the IDE HD on a primary, the computer will stop on boot just primary to going to the DATA (After CD and floppy). The Bios appears to find the HD and I can access it using a DOS boot floppy.

Hi, I am in the market for a backup harddrive. I had a couple of questions. First I will explain, I use my computer for mostly personal and school, I have a decent amount of word documents, music, and pictures. I have a 3 year old Dell Inspiron 5150 Laptop with Windows XP. I wanted to know1) For my uses, is an external harddrive really necessary?-Is this something I should have or is it really not a big deal for my purposes?2) If it would be of particular benefit, I'd like to know, which brand, model could you recommend? I do have a restricted budget.-Would this do?Link Edit3) What kinds of features should I pay attention to or are of big importance?4) How much GB do I need?-Is 320 ample?Thanks.

Answer:Purchasing A Backup Harddrive

Hard to say if you need 320gb, generally your backup hdd need not be any larger than the internal one unless that's running out of space and will be replaced soon. (Some cloning programs will clone to a smaller hdd provided that the smaller one can contain all the files on the source partitions)If you are considering cloning your internal hdd to your backup hdd so that you can boot from the backup, ensure that booting from a usb device is supported in your system.The price shown on the link you posted is certainly very attractive, pity they're out of stock!Burning data files to a cd or dvd is the cheapest form of reasonably secure backup IMHO.Good luck

I am running xp home edition sp3. I have a Seagate 200gb hdd external. I have Spotmau Power Suite 2009 software. When I get ready to backup and am asked for the destination drive, the D: drive isn't shown as an option. I installed the Windows XP backup utility(ntbackup) and got the same results.
I dont't want to backup to DVD or removable drive.

Windows sees the drive and I can access it. Why doesn't backup see it?

Also, just so you know, I don't have any previous backups that need to be deleted. And just to be sure I ran the backup numerous times always getting the same size as a result (384 GB).

I would like to have a complete backup but don't want to use up so much space. Is there an easy way to change a setting so that I can save disk space on my external drive while have a thorough and comprehensive backup.

Much Thanks!

Answer:Why is my backup larger than my system's harddrive?

How many partitions in this PC?

How many partitions were imaged?

What is the total size of the hard drive that contains your C partition, including unoccupied space?

Did you by any chance do a "sector by sector" backup? I don't use Windows Backup and don't know if that is even a possibility.

heres the deali have a 250gb harddrive thats had alotta stuff taken off and put on it, i want to reformat it.i have some things id like to save, so i have an old 40gb harddrive sitting around. unfourtunately it has stuff on it and i would like to wipe it clean so i can put it in the computer and have it set to a slave drive so i can just copy and paste all of the data from one harddrive to the other. then i can wipe the 250gb harddrive, reinstall windows, plug in the 40gb, and transfer the data back.

with all that said, how exactly do i do that? i tried putting the 40gb in but either my computer wont boot (no message, the screen never changes from all black) or it boots from the 40gb harddrive and doesnt recognize the 250gb.

Answer:harddrive reformatting/backup data

Welcome to TSG!It's possible that the 250 gig HDD has been jumpered to standalone which is not (edit: not always) the same as Master. You need to set both drives' jumpers. The 40 GB to slave, and 250 GB to Master.

If the 250 GB HDD is SATA, then it should be recognized no matter what IDE drives are present... In this case I would go into BIOS and check if they are recognized OK, and then check boot order. Besides boot order of different device types (floppy, CD, HDD, etc.) in some BIOS-es there's an option for setting boot priority of HDDs present in the system.

I've got Win'98se with a 6.4 gig Fujitsu harddrive that's less than a year old. I started having scandisk run every re-boot so I did a thorough scan. The scan reported sector 40, 312, and 313 were bad. It said:

"Scan disk can no longer read from Sector 40 of this drive's file allocation table. Scandisk cannot repair this error because this part of the system cannot be relocated to another section of your disk. You may need to replace this disk."

It also returned the same message for Sector 312 and 313, yet the final report said that there were 0 bytes in bad sectors. I assume that's because it couldn't read the Sectors to see if there was information there.

The question is twofold:1) I guess this means the drive must be replaced (2 months left in the warranty!) am I correct? and2) Is there an easy and or inexpensive way to copy the entire drive to a new one?

The drive is partitioned into 2.1gig partitions and i really want to keep the data without having to start fresh with a replacement drive (I'll have to ship the drive away and I expect I'll get a new one instead)?

I'm just bought a new 8.4 gig harddrive, so I want to transfer the data without necessarily starting from scratch.

Well 2 days ago my motherboard fried because of a power surge, and I'm buying a new computer tommorow, my question is.. is it possible to get the data off my old hard drive? I was hoping it'd be as easy as plugging it into my new computer, but I don't think it is. I don't really know about this stuff so any responses would be greatly appreciated.

All I need to access is the photos, so if I can access the pictures id just put them on a flash drive.

The old hard drive has windows vista on it, I'm planning on getting windows 7 if that helps.

Gave my old pc to my son, had not gotten around to backing up my picture files yet. Well he tells me its not working, after some investigation I find out that instead of shutting down the pc properly each time, he simply has been unplugging it. I mean, every time bless his cotton socks no matter how much I have always drilled into his 10yr old brain this is a bad thing to do. Before I restore it, which of course will wipe my files is there any way to rescue my pictures?

Answer:Can I backup my harddrive befor i restore it?

If the PC will no longer boot, you could try that hard drive in another machine. it will then show up as an additional drive, and you should be able to get your pictures from it.Hope this helps, and welcome to the forum.

yes these are all legal....whats the best program to rip dvds to my harddrivesi tried dvd shink, should I make it an iso or a audio_ts, I was thinking ISO

anyone who does this have any suggestions?

Answer:Burning DVDs to harddrive for backup...

dvddecrypter allows for easy fair-use of your DVDs, requiring no great amount of knowledge. It also allows for selection of only the program portion that you want, so no space or time is wasted backing up unwanted portions of the disc.

I'm preparing to upgrade from Windows 2000 professional to XP. I would like a perfect backup of my C: drive in case the worst happens and XP kills my computer (so I can revert back to 2000 and my old system without a problem). I have 2 hard drives so I have the room to put an exact image of my C: drive onto the slave drive. Just wanting to get some feedback as to the best way to do this.

So far I just used the "backup now" option in Windows 2000 and saved a .bkf file of my entire drive to the slave. It actually didn't take up that much space--the .bkf must contain some sort of compression.

Anyway, is this the best way to go about protecting myself or would it be worthwhile to instead invest in a 3rd party backup program instead before undertaking this? There are tons of programs out there of course, Norton Ghost, Backup Now, GoBack, or what have you. If Windows' option works well I don't know why people would buy a 3rd party program but I hear about it a lot so I thought I'd ask. Anyone ever restored an entire system from a windows .bkf file before and had difficulty? Protecting myself is pretty important to me.

With the windows backup you have to reinstall windows and then restore the backup to get back to where you were. I use and love ghost because it makes a 100% exact copy of EVERYTHING and all you have to do to get it back is to restore the image and you're up a going again - no need to reinstall windows. Is also fast and can clone one drive to another or create an Image file.

GoBack I don't like and Backup Now needs windows to be installed to restore the backup

Does anyone know of a simple backup program that is capable of backing up large files incrementally by splitting the file and backing up only changed parts of the file? The files I'm talking about are files that get altered by appending stuff at the end of the file, e.g. log files or mailbox files, so it's generally possible to split a new version of the file at the exact point where the old version stopped, purely by file size.

Specifically, I want to back up Thunderbird and SeaMonkey mailboxes without having to create additional subfolders within those programs.

I understand that if something had changed near the beginning of the file, then the whole file will have to be backed up, unless the backup program is capable of some very clever searching, but mostly the files will change only by having data appended to it.

Thanks
Samuel

Answer:Backup software that splits large files for incremental backup

You may want to rethink incremental backups. Where I worked, until I retired, we first used incremental backups for our servers. That seemed like a good approach - make an initial full backup on one day of the week and then only incrementals the rest of the week. That allowed smaller backups however when it came time to restore it was a nightmare making sure the incrementals were installed in the proper order, and it took much longer to restore. A decision was made to only do full backups every night and although the backup was bigger if a restore was needed there was no confusion on order of reinstall and it took less time.

I do the same thing with my own PC backups. I use Acronis True Image, which has incremental backup ability, but I only do full hard drive backups, to a separate hard drive.

I have a new HP Pavillion Elite HPE with 920 GB of memory running Windows 7. I am an average computer user. I have a WD external backup drive with 1TB memory. I don't like the backup software that comes with the computer. I can't access anything to see how old the files are. The only option is to restore. Thank God I haven't had to do that. I have the files important to me backed up manually. I tried Nova backup but all I had was a bunch (really- a bunch) of files again that I couldn't access. I had a copy of Norton Ghost that wouldn't work with my old XP computer so I tried it on this one. After days with support manipulating my computer, going through three people to the software engineer, they could not make Ghost work on my (64? whatever) computer.

I don't know if I need a mirror or clone or whatever I've been reading about that I don't understand. I have plenty of room on the backup drive and have CD's and DVD's that will restore, I think. Best Buy made me some when I bought it and the computer made me make some as well when I got home. I can manually do a system backup less my files that doesn't change. So what I really want to do is to find a software that will enable me to choose the files I want to that sometimes change (My Documents) and have those backup on a regular basis. I also want to have those so I can go to my M drive (backup drive) and see my files just like in windows explorer. That way, if anything does happen, I know my files are alright and if I have ... Read more

Answer:Is there a backup software that transfers files I can read on my backup drive?

I have tried to create a batch file to backup our important data from our program to our server(drive letter Z)on our network and cant seem to get it to work.Could someone look at it and be able to tell me what is wrong with it. We also decided to include backing up our my documents folder too.

How come the built in Vista backup utility doesn't backup software? Does anyone know of a way to do this, or know of any software that will create an image of my harddrive? I seriously need to reformat my computer and I can't do it without this.

Thanks.

Answer:Vista Backup Utility Doesnt Backup Software?

Norton ghost or Acronis True Image... the latter is the easier of the two apps IMO.

This is probably a really stupid question, and I apologize upfront if this has been ask before and or for the stupidity of the question. But I recently purchased a new hard drive, and to this point have been utilizing Macrium only for backup images.

What I'm trying to do is copy a working image of my old hard drive including the OS Xp, to the new hard drive, but the pc won't boot with the copy installed on the new hard drive!

Does the new hard drive have to first have windows xp OS loaded before applying the image?

Thanks for any advise!

Answer:Load Backup Image to New Harddrive With Macrium

If you're just changing the hard drive, it goes like this.Make an image to a non-system partition of the old drive, or another drive, but not to the new drive, unless it's on to a non-system partition.Really have to know how your partitions are set up to give exact advice.You might have a system reserved partition. I can't advise on that. Make sure you have burned a Macrium recovery CD.Connect your new drive. I would put this on the first controller slot, so it will be disk 0.Make sure your old drive is connected. I would move this to the drive 1 controller slot.Change boot sequence in BIOS so you boot with the Macrium CD.Restore the image to the new drive. Make sure you know what partition is what.I don't know the Macrium restore options, but the restored partition on the new drive should be marked as active, system.Change boot sequence to the new drive.Should boot to the new drive like it did with the old drive.If you have more questions, ask. But provide more detail.Plenty of guys here know this up and down.You didn't get a quick response because you didn't give enough detail, and you mentioned XP in a confusing way.

This is a windows xp HP computer, the problem is I have a boot option and I've been booting from cd all this time. I accidently turned the pc off now the computer won't read the cd for some reason. Yes the cd works, I tried it in my new laptop I got this Christmas. All I want to get a few files off the old computer and I'll let it rest in peace. I've been using Hiren's BOOTCD 11 to boot my pc, and so I just made a bootable usb but there is a big issue. It reads Grub4dos instead of the Hiren disk, it saysBoot from find menu.lst, /boot/grub/menu.lst. /grub/menu.lstClick to expand...

and when it does that this shows upGrubs4dos 0.4.5b 2011-04-23, Mem 639K/1014/0M, End: 351657 [Minimal BASH-like line editing is supported. For the first word TAB list possible command completions of a device/filename ESC at anytime exits. ]Click to expand...

I type in boot then it saysError 8: Kernel must be loaded before bootingClick to expand...

I wonder if anyone could please give me some advice.I work in a small office environment (of around 8 employees) and our tape drive backup system has recently reached maximum capacity.We have our server (windows server 2003 small business edition) sitting in the building opposite which stores all our network files and is backed up daily via a grandfather, father, son tape rotation system (I keep the tapes in my office to ensure offsite backup).I am thinking of getting a networkable external harddrive and am wondering if this is the best solution and if so, which one to get.I was thinking that I could plug it into one of the ethernet ports in our office and schedule a daily backup of the server, to run overnight. I can't connect it directly to the server because we need to have 'offsite' backup for insurance purposes.Is this the best solution? What drives would you recommend (I think we'll need around 1TB to cope with expanding data storage needs)? I've looked at the 'Western Digital My Book' as an option, but all our machines run Windows (XP) OS's so I don't need Mac compatibility.Many thanks

This is a windows xp HP computer, the problem is I have a boot option and I've been booting from cd all this time. I accidently turned the pc off now the computer won't read the cd for some reason. Yes the cd works, I tried it in my new laptop I got this Christmas. All I want to get a few files off the old computer and I'll let it rest in peace. I've been using Hiren's BOOTCD 11 to boot my pc, and so I just made a bootable usb but there is a big issue. It reads Grub4dos instead of the Hiren disk, it says QuoteBoot from find menu.lst, /boot/grub/menu.lst. /grub/menu.lst and when it does that this shows up QuoteGrubs4dos 0.4.5b 2011-04-23, Mem 639K/1014/0M, End: 351657 [Minimal BASH-like line editing is supported. For the first word TAB list possible command completions of a device/filename ESC at anytime exits. ] I type in boot then it says QuoteError 8: Kernel must be loaded before booting

For some reason, system image backup is no longer allowing me to choose a hard drive for the destination of a system image backup. Space isn't the issue, as the drive I want to back up to has more than enough space for my C: drive. There is already an image stored on the drive, but I'm reluctant to delete it until I know I can do a new one successfully.

Anyone else had this issue?

Answer:system image backup - no harddrive option?

Just to clarify, the harddrive option is there but no drives are listed and so it defaults to the back up to DVD option. If I refresh the list of harddrives, the list remains empty and it reselects the DVD option.

I've got a Samsung spinpoint 1 Tb drive. It was a backup drive in a Vista build. I used Macrium to clone my Vista C drive to the Samsung. Then, I removed it.

Next, I built a new machine, a W7/64. THAT build uses an SSD for the operating system, "C", and a Western Digital hard drive (Black, 1 Tb) as the data drive, "D".

Once that machine was up and running, I decided to use the old Samsung drive as a backup. I physically installed it, Sata cable, and it is identified in windows as "E". Next, I tried using the Disk Management, Properties, Tools to run check. The window opens, then it immediately closes.

hmmm, thought I. Perhaps a remnant of the Vista OS was doing something. I then opened Disk Management, unmounted the drive, and performed a complete, long, reformat.

I restarted.

I tried using the properties, tools, check now window again. Still, that window will not check it. The progress bar never flashes. All that happens is about 1 second after I click "OK", the window closes. No messages.

I opened an elevated command prompt and tried "chkdsk e:" It came back with "The type of file system is NTFS." A pause, "Errors found. CHKDSK cannot continue in read-only mode."

I've searched a LOT of the internet on this. The drive has just under 9,000 hours on it. It passes every Samsung test I could throw at it from Samsung's support website.

I did a hard drive image/backup on my thinkpad, and saved it to the c drive. I wanted to then back it up to the network but cant figure out where the files are saved to on the c drive.Also, I tried to delete it with the tool, and it wont delete.Anyone know where to get these files at?Thanks!

I now want to restore the Vista PC-Complete backup to the "Empty" 300 GB partition of the 1000 GB disk, so that I no longer need the 500 GB disk,but the tutorials I've found regarding Windows Recovery are not detailed enough to answer the following questions:

1. Will the recovery of the Vista-DVD keep my other partitions (those labeled "Linux" above) intact?2. The new partition (labeled "Empty") is a logical partition, the old Vista partition of the 500 GB disk was a primary. Will Vista be able to boot from the logical partition (preferably via Grub)?3. Will I be able to use the whole 300 GB of the "Empty" partition afterwards or will Vista directly mirror the contents of the old partition so that I only have 250 GB available?

Buying a new desktop computer. So I literally simply want to copy my entire hard drive to an external hard drive. All the files on my HD are about 30 GB transferring to a new external with 1 TB of space. Nothing on it yet. What's the quickest, simplest way to do this? This way I know I have every single file from my computer stored without missing anything.

This way on new desktop I have all my settings/bookmarks, etc. for browsers, all files saved.....

Doesn't need to be bootable from the external, just trying to make a copy so i know i have everything. What would you guys use for this? Thanks.

Answer:Simplest way to backup entire harddrive to an external

Just copy and paste them. Use guides not only available here but on other sites as well to export your bookmarks so you can just import them. For the rest of your personal files just move them to the drive. Sicne making a direct image wont do you any good. This is going to be your best bet. Use something like SyncToy.

I created a 'Complete PC Backup' from Vista before installing windows 7 in external usb hard drive. Now I want to delete that backup and store windows 7's backup.

When I try to delete the folder i get error: 'An errored occured while applying security information to ... Access is denied.' message.

and when I try to delete the the folder inside 'Windows Image Backup' i get an error message.

I tried to get permission but the above error is displayed.

What should I do now?

Answer:Delete 'Complete PC Backup' in external usb harddrive

With the drive plugged in use Windows Explorer, can you see the folder in the tree, if so right click and do delete, if that doesn't work is that all you use the drive for, if so just format the drive.

I recently installed a new Seagate 500G SATA harddrive and cloned everything over to the new drive. After I reinstalled Norton System Works 2007, now I can't access my backup drive. I can see the D:\ drive in "my computer", but it tells me the file system is missing. How do I fix it? Is there something I can copy from C to D?

I am trying to transfer about 80gb of movie files to a usb network hardrive hooked up to my Netgear WNDR3700 dual band router. I have windows 7 ultimate. I have my pc hard wired (gigabit) to the router temporarily to do the transfer but i'm only getting 3.3 MB/s. What gives? I thought I would at least get a lot faster than that? Is the usb network harddrive on the router limiting it to be this slow. I could've swore that usb transfered faster than that.

Any ideas?

Answer:Slow gigabit network transfer to usb network harddrive

3.3MB/s = ~330Mbps
USB2.0 = ~480Mbps

include overhead from both the TCP/IP and USB protocols, and the fact that you will never get a full 480Mbps out of USB, and the number is pretty close.

edit: damnit, I'm a tard. 3.3MB/s = 30.3Mbps. How did I do that?

so connect the USB drive directly to your computer and copy a large file; what kind of transfer speed do you get then?

Hello, I have a Linux (ubuntu) machine connected to a Linksys G router (WRT54G2) via ethernet. My main PC, a Winodws XP laptop, also communicates through the linksys router (via wifi). I want to connect an external drive directly to the Linksys wireless G and be able to use *both machines (Linux and XP) to access the external drive and do backups; is this possible?

Most inexpensive external drives come with USB, not ethernet connections; the wifi has Ethernet connections. I am new too both backup devices and Linux and am on a budget.

Hi Everybody.I have a big problem i have been having since yesterday. My external Hard Disk is not showing up in My Computer. I have some important files in that drive that cannot be erased because my computer had a clean install yesterday. Can I please have an answer before 9pm tonight? I Dont want my hard drive's content deleted! ThanksBryce (AKA: The Computer Geek)

For the past couple of years I've regularly backed up all my stuff using Regen (XP version) onto a Tosh PX1266E external drive, and have always been able to restore files using the Regen file restore wizard.

The disk in my laptop failed recently, and since then I've been trying unsuccesfully to restore my files from the PX onto my new laptop (runs Vista).
I've tried using both the original XP version and the downloaded Vista version of the Regen driver, but I can't see my back-up stores in the restore wizard window, although I can see the back-ups and snapshots are still on the PX when I browse it.

Any suggestions, please, on how I could get them back?

Answer:Regen backup software won't restore the backup

Have you full access to saved stuff on this external HDD?
I mean does Toshiba HDD works properly or there is some problem with HDD functionality?

After a heavy-duty malware infection that wreaked such havoc that, on advise I got here, I decided to nuke-and-reinstall.

Also , I was subtly tipped that perhaps I should consider backing up the system against future incidents using, say, Macrium Reflect.

I did as I was told, but only remembered today that I had tried MR before, with not-so-impressive results which soured me on them at the time (2013):

perhaps the software has gotten better since, but I remember thinking then that I would henceforth not so to speak leave the (encryption) key to my data to anybody else, but make straight, unencrypted backups.

Also, the cost of storage is very low now even as compared to then, and in my case incremental backups or other such finesses, are not necessary.

What, then, would be the argument for using backup software in my particular case?

After a heavy-duty malware infection that wreaked such havoc that, on advise I got here, I decided to nuke-and-reinstall.

Also , I was subtly tipped that perhaps I should consider backing up the system against future incidents using, say, Macrium Reflect.

I did as I was told, but only remembered today that I had tried MR before, with not-so-impressive results which soured me on them at the time (2013):

perhaps the software has gotten better since, but I remember thinking then that I would henceforth not so to speak leave the (encryption) key to my data to anybody else, but make straight, unencrypted backups.

Also, the cost of storage is very low now even as compared to then, and in my case incremental backups or other such finesses, are not necessary.

What, then, would be the argument for using backup software in my particular case?

I'm looking for a better backup software. I have togeather ideas of what I am looking for in it and which ones I have used.

To multiple locations (USB Drive, Network, FTP)
Run when not logged in (service?)
Backup active files?
weekly full backup
incremental - Daily
keeps 5-7's of backup files
Beable to go back 5-7 days to get a file
FTP SSL
Files stay in readable state. - not in some proprietary state

I am looking for a good Backup Software - for a full backup. I have 3 that i may decide on1. Macrium Reflect (free/paid)2. Acronic True Image 2012 (paid)3. [email protected] (paid)I am leaning toward Macrium Reflex is that a good backup software All 3 do a Image backup I just bought a Seagate Go Flex 1TG External HD. There is software included on external HD, but it doesn't do a full backup.

Answer:Looking for a Good backup software for full backup

Seagate HDD's ship with Acronis...Although Network and NAT imaging and scheduling are all disabled in that version it DOES do full backups...If Free is an alternative then Macrium is a fine app for your needs.

Because the amount of data stored on my drives is continuously increasing, I've decided that it's time to find a way to backup the most important part of it.

So, I'm looking for a software capable of making a backup copy(on a secondary HDD) of certain folders and of certain files(from certain folders) and keeping it updated.

I'm also interested to make a backup copy of files that are locked, if possible. I have some VMs and I'd like to back them up too if possbile.(I'll check to see whether VMWare Workstation can backup itself by taking snapshots on a different HDD at certain moments).

The software really needs to be able to cope with paths longer than 255 characters, it has to be able to retain all the file's attributes(creation date, modified date, attribute fields, etc), and it has to ba able to do bit-by-bit checking in order to prevent corruption.

Also, there are some large files that I can't backup(it would take too much space), and in this case I'd like to have a list of their names and sizes, and if possible a checksum(TTH or emule's MD5), in order to redownload them easily in case of a disaster.

What software would you advise me to use?BTW, I'm also very interested about your backup methods for your sensible data.

PS: Neither RAID nor a ZFS NAS box are solutions for me at the moment, and I'm not looking for a software that does backup to an entire partition.

Regards,Nick

Answer:Looking for a good backup software/backup plan

You dont want much do you Nick?? Im not aware of any program that will do 100% of everything that you have listed ... that would require custom software ... the easiest solution IMO would be a program like Acronis/Macrium image, backed up to an external 2tb hard drive ... it may not be the most elegant solution, but it would work...

I just bought a USB 3.0 3 TB external drive for making backups. After some searching, I decided to use EaseUS Todo Backup because CNET rated it highly. I plugged the drive into a 3.0 port and did a backup. It was a file backup, not an image backup, but it still puts everything in one file (.PBD) and then apparently modifies Windows Explorer to be able to browse the file. Windows Backup (the one that comes on Windows 7) seems to work similarly, though you need to use a wizard to restore things. The backup took twice as much space as my data takes up on my internal hard drive. Also, it took 8 and a half hours, which I calculated to be 20 MB/s. So my questions are:

1. Why doesn't it just put things in the drive in a normal folder/file structure?2. Why did it take up twice as much space?3. Why did a USB 3.0 backup go so slowly? (Maybe it has something to do with the fact that it took up twice as much space, but that's still slow considering I've gotten speeds of 75 MB/s, and I do realize transferring a lot of small files will take longer.)4. Am I just better off with using Windows Backup (or is restoring a pain with the wizard)?

Traditionally, I share a folder from my Desktop to my PC via SMB and it works perfect as can be. The HDD on the Desktop has PLENTY of space and is in NTFS format and not being used as a NAS.

I browse network to find the folder I want, there it is all ready to be used. I select and enter the same information (my live email and password, and also tried Desktop username/password) as I did with getting the folder to share in the first place.

I keep getting the error 0x80070544 which tells me that it's the network credentials.

There is only a grand total of one post on here that I can find that error code and it was never truly resolved. I don't know what I should do. I would despise using alternative software over something as trivial as this.

Any help would be GREATLY! appreciated.

Answer:Windows Backup: Set Network Backup. Error: 0x80070544

Prefix your username with the name of the pc your connecting to assuming you have an account on that pc so if the pc is called fredspc you enter fredpc\username

I need to backup my notebook harddrive data because the notebook needs to repair.

I try to connect my harddrive with USB to SATA/IDE cable to the computer.
Computer recognizes it as USB to ATA/ATAPI Bridge. However, I am unable to browse the harddrive to retrieve the data.
What can I do?

My Sony Vaio had some problems so I want to backup all the files onto this 500gb external harddrive. Only problem is that I couldn't get it to work. Says that theres an error. I decided to try with just 1 file that was 1gb and it worked fine, so I'm in need of some advice on what the problem could be. Its a Western Digital My Book Essential Edition, 500gb harddrive (465.16gb when viewed in Manage), FAT32, has no partitions.

Hi, I want to upsize my OS hard drive. What is good brand of software to copy everything from the small drive to a larger one?

Answer:Copying OS harddrive - software

The major HDD manuf. all have FREE software to "clone" your old drive to the new one...The procedure is simple Hook up the new drive as slaveDLoad the software from the manuf. site and create a bootable cd.Boot to the CD and select the Clone operation.Let it run completely...this is IMPORTANT.When finished remove the original HDD and hook up the new one as master.After you have verified everything is working you can then add the old drive as slave; format it and use it for additional storage...

I had a Sony VAIO laptop which needed fixed.They had to install a new harddrive along with a new OS.All my old files that were not backe dup were lost.The PC will run, but it has no programs on it.Several Questions:1) Since there is no anti-virus, what anti-virus and other protection programs should I download and install (for free)...is there a list?2) Sadly it does not have Microsoft Office, which is vital for me. I need and use the word processor, excel, and powerpoint. I do not have an old copy, am I SOL, or is there anyway I can get my hands on an old product key or download one for free online.(If any of you can, PLEASE PM me a copy or key code!)3) Basically, what programs and in what order should I download so my PC is safe and useable?4) Lastly, once I download MS Office and iTunes, will all my program files and documents I do have backed up be able to be read and accessed on the PC?Thanks!

Answer:JUst got a new harddrive on PC...no software loaded...help

1) Avira, Avast, or Microsoft Essentials are your best free choices2) There are several free alternatives to Office (http://www.mydigitallife.info/free-microsoft-office-alternatives-or-replacements/). Open Office is popular and compatible with Office files.3) Install the av, then include either or both MalwareBytes and / or Super AntiSpyware. Also SpywareBlaster (you need to download and activate updates every week or so).4) Probably

I have a 80gig HD running windows xp and I bought a new 160 gig HD. I want to use my 160 as the main drive. What software programs are out there for me so that I can move my information from the old to the new one and still use the extra space on the new drive?

I have XP Home-Sp2-O.S.What do I do after I install Acronis 10 software for backup,and Seagate 40GB,extenal harddrive.Please answer in 123 order,plus simple language,I just want to backup my whole harddrive,ounce in a while,in a short time,not hours.Thank All.

Answer:External Harddrive & Software.

Follow the directions. The first backup will be long, but after that, you can do inremental ones that record only changes.

i have 10 labtops that i have to dual boot with windows 2000 on the c: partition of a harddrive and xp on the d: partition of the harddrive. Anybody got a suggestion on a good imaging/cloning software? All the labtops are the exact same model.

I find with some downloading of programmes that I get a choice on which hard drive I want to put them, but with others it automatically downloads on C Drive which has very limited capacity. My Windows is on this small hard drive and I try to put everything else on my D Drive. It doesn't matter if I save the download to my desktop the problem still occurs. I am wondering if there would be somewhere I can change this.
Thanks

Answer:[SOLVED] Choosing Harddrive for Software

Hello Nanray and welcome to TSF!

Quote:

Originally Posted by nanray

I find with some downloading of programmes that I get a choice on which hard drive I want to put them, but with others it automatically downloads on C Drive which has very limited capacity. My Windows is on this small hard drive and I try to put everything else on my D Drive. It doesn't matter if I save the download to my desktop the problem still occurs. I am wondering if there would be somewhere I can change this.
Thanks

What you would need to change is the "Default Download Path" for your browser... but which browser are you using?

I have a HDD I want to wipe to install Win7 on for my game machine.I have a HDD enclosure that hooks to my laptop with a USB cord..can anyone recommend a good utility to wipe the HDD that is relatively easy to use?

hi friends i have accidently formatted my d drive where there were my collection of software and pictures , so can they be rrecovered ? if yes which is the best application or software in free and paid...please suggest

Answer:which is the best data recovery software for harddrive

Try this[email protected] File Recovery. Product Features: NTFS, exFAT,FAT32,HFS+,Ext2fs/Ext3fsI used it once on a formatted drive and recovered 90%+ of the files on it.

There is a trial and this is what they say about it

Quick Recovery Steps

Download and install [email protected] File Recovery on your computer. (Avoid installing it to the disk where your lost files are located)Scan the diskSearch for deleted filesFree version allows recovery of up to a 64kb filesVerify the file integrity using file PreviewWhen your data is found, the free version can be easily activated to allow recovery of any size file without re-installing the software and re-scanning the disks

Hello.I have an old XP Pc which I'm giving to a friend.The OS is partitioned on the HD,and is accessed by a boot floppy.If the HD does not fail,then no problems.But if it does(5 years old),I would like to create a backup image and reinstall on to the new drive.I use ACRONIS myself,and the cd is bootable.But what free software is available to create an image ,and can the image it creates be re-installed on the new drive?.Thank you.

Please explain to me,in simple language,on a 123 basis,exactly what I need to do,with this equipment,in order to backup my Harddrive,ounce in a while.Thanks To All?

Answer:External Harddrive & Acronis Software.

Acronis doesn't really have a simple 123 answer but it is a really good backup program.It has quite a few options, the best of which depends on your needs.To get the best from it you must read the help files and develop an understanding of the program.I find a good option is to backup to an external hdd on a regular basis.

I just ordered a new hard drive for my presario laptop from new egg. I will assume I can just plug it in and run the 4 recovery disks and restore to factory condition. But I would rather clone the HD and not have to bother with all the updates and such. I also purchased a USB to 2.5 exernal case where I could plug in the new drive and transfer, but after further investigation i.e. Tech Guys, I'm thinking I may be tripped up W/O cloning software. There will be no Soft Ware with the pretty cheap usb adapter.I really didn't want this to turn into a financial fiasco!

The pc at work recently crashed and when they reinstalled windows xp pro sp2, they didn't install any dvd software, codecs, etc. I have permision from my boss to watch movies on the PC when on the night shift but the IT department is dragging their feet installing the software as it obviously isn't a priority for them. I have 2 external hard drives(1 2.5" 60gb, 1 3.5" 250gb) that use usb 2.0 and I figure there has got to be some software out there that will allow me to install the needed software on to the external and run it on the work computer. I looked into MojoPac but I can't use it as I don't have administative rights (which is the problem in the first place). Any ideas?

Answer:How do I run software off a external harddrive with no admistrative rights?

I'm sorry, but we are unable to assist you with this issue, as it is in violation of TSF rules. While your may have given you permission, we cannot help you circumvent the company IT restrictions.

Excerpts from TSF Rules:

NETWORK RESTRICTIONS

We will not assist any user who, in our opinion, is clearly trying to circumvent his company network protocols or restrictions put on his system by a Network Administrator. Again we have no ability to assess the user's intent.

ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES

Users may not post hacks, cracks, or give instruction how to pirate any type of software, or anything similar, in any forum of TSF. We do not condone, support or give instruction on any illegal activity pertaining to computer systems, computer hardware, computer software programs or computer related activities. Included in this group of activities are requests for help to circumvent system admin passwords or Administrator settings on networks. We do understand that the majority of requests may be legitimate, but we do not have the means to discern these from non-legitimate requests.

Hi just wondering if anyone could help me. I have a new computer and when on the internet it appears to be noisy and continually accessing the harddrive. I have Norton Internet Securtiy 2007 installed and wondering if it is anything to do with this or something more serious.On that note is Norton internet security sufficient protection for my PC or would people recommend any other security, particularly towards spyware if norton not good enough.I have read on previous threads that yahoo toolbar is quite good for spyware and I have downloaded it but not getting the spyware options as did previously only getting a symntec symbol in the place the run spyware icon should be. I hope this makes sense.Any advice greatly appreciated.

Answer:Noisy Harddrive - Anti Virus Software

Hi just wondering if anyone could help me. I have a new computer and when on the internet it appears to be noisy and continually accessing the harddrive. I have Norton Internet Securtiy 2007 installed and wondering if it is anything to do with this or something more serious.- Is the noise new or has it been happening a while? It could be this computer has a louder drive than your old one did. Are you sure the hard drive is the item at fault? It could be a CD in a drive or even a fan.On that note is Norton internet security sufficient protection for my PC or would people recommend any other security, particularly towards spyware if norton not good enough.- Yes it is enough however it isnt brilliant as it is a resource hog. A friend had it on his computer and it kicked him off his wireless connection all the time. Personally I tend to use AVG free, spybot search and destroy, spyware blaster, ad aware and zone alarm. I have had no virus problems or any other problems for that matter. All are free just google to find a download source.I have read on previous threads that yahoo toolbar is quite good for spyware and I have downloaded it but not getting the spyware options as did previously only getting a symntec symbol in the place the run spyware icon should be. I hope this makes sense.- Personally I tend to use alternative internet browsers such as firefox click here or opera click here which are less prone to allowing nasties in. I dislike toolbars mainly as they get in the way ... Read more

I have a laptop, the hard drive failed so i threw it out and replaced it with a new one. It was only after I threw it out did I realise that I needed to use it to install my new hard drive with the software that came with the laptop. Is there any way I can re-install the software that came with the laptop on to my new hard drive. Please note I don't have the old hard drive any more.

I am looking for a Harddrive and backup/syncing software that will work with Windows Vista x64.

My previous setup was Vista x32 using a 320gb Seagate FreeAgent Go External usb HD and the included Seagate Manager software to sync specific folders whenever the drive is connected. On my new system (x64), the software is not compatible

FreeAgent Desktop Software | Seagate

I am still able to connect and use the Drive, but the auto-sync capabilities offered by the software are no longer available. Thus, I would need to manually backup each new file, which is a major inconvenience.

Does anyone have suggestions on a HD and software(most importantly) that works with Vista x64? I am looking for a 500gb - 1.5tb External usb 2.0 hd.

I wanna make a backup of my drive after a reformat and reinstall of windows, they're any easy/free way to do this?

Answer:Free Harddrive Image Making Software

Well if your reinstalling windows you don't really want an image. Sort of defeats the purpose. Just back up the files you want to keep and reinstall the programs you need.

I mean you can make an image but that essentially is like deleting everything to clean it up and then putting everything back including the garbage you were trying to get rid of. I mean making an image is usually done because you like the way things are currently and you want to be able to restore to that point. But if the whole point is to reinstall then you don't want an image.